DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team won another close contest on Friday, holding off Palm Beach Atlantic (3-6) 57-53 at the ICI Center. The win, which put the Eagles at 7-2 overall and 5-0 against Sunshine State Conference opposition, marked the fifth time this season that a game was decided by five points or less.
 
Lauren Ellenberger paced the Eagles with 15 points, while Laniere Coleman finished with a season-high 12 points and Sabrina Whiting added 11 points. Mercedes Jorge achieved a milestone in Friday's game as her 11-rebound performance put her over the 500 career-rebound mark. Jorge currently has 506 career rebounds and is the Eagles' all-time leader in that category.
 
After a fairly even first period that saw Palm Beach Atlantic with an 11-10 edge, the Eagles pulled away in the second quarter, outscoring the visitors 18-7 on 61.5 percent (8-of-13) shooting from the field, and led 28-18 at the half.
 
The Sailfish made up some ground in the third. They were 6-of-14 from the field compared to just 4-of-13 shooting by the Blue and Gold, and at the end of the third quarter, the Eagle lead was down to six (40-34).
 
Ayanna Holmes, who finished with a double-double (16 pts, 11 reb) for the Sailfish, opened the quarter with a jumper to narrow the lead to 40-36, but Sigrid Sandstrom answered with her second three-pointer of the night to put the Eagles back up by seven (43-36).
 
Three turnovers on the Eagles' next three possessions helped PBAU close the gap once again, and with 7:49 remaining, ERAU only led by one point, 43-42. The next three minutes saw Ellenberger knock down two treys, but baskets by Mina Salhia and Nikkira Brown, and a three by Caroline Patrick gave the Sailfish their first lead (50-49) since the first quarter with 3:38 left to play.
 
After Brown made one of two free throws to make it 51-49 at the 1:35 mark, ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson called a timeout with her team needing to go the length of the court. Coming out of the timeout, Whiting's long pass found its way to an unmarked Coleman who drove to the basket and finished the layup to tie the score at 51-51. Coleman, who was fouled on the play, missed the free throw, but after grabbing the rebound, the Sailfish turned the ball over, giving it back to the Eagles with 1:11 left.
 
On the Eagles' next trip down the court, Mercedes Jorge was fouled and the senior hit both free throws for another two-point Eagle advantage, but Salhia answered quickly on the other end to knot the score again (53-53).
 
With 25 seconds showing on the clock, the Eagles got the ball out to Whiting at the top of the arc. The junior made a move toward the basket, but then dished the ball back out to Ellenberger who drilled her fourth three of the evening to give the Blue and Gold a 56-53 cushion.
 
After taking a timeout to advance the ball to half court, the Sailfish found Salhia on offense once again, but Ellenberger forced her to turn the ball over, giving it back to the Eagles with just 13 seconds left.
 
The Eagles ran six seconds off the clock and with the ball in Ellenberger's hands, the Sailfish committed a foul to send her to the charity stripe. The sophomore made one of two free throws, but Jorge came up with rebound on the miss as time expired to secure the Eagle win.
 
The Eagles will host the 2016 Bahama House Classic at the ICI Center in their final action before the Christmas break. On Dec. 16, ERAU will take on Converse at 11 a.m. and will host several middle schools as part of Education Day. On Saturday, Dec. 17 the Eagles will face Texas Woman's University in a 2 p.m. tilt in the final game before the holiday break.